Switzerland and Netherlands to lock horns for Tokyo ticket
Recap
Either Switzerland or the Netherlands will book the last remaining Olympic ticket from Europe to Tokyo. The men’s national teams of the two countries progressed to Saturday’s last showdown at the CEV Continental Cup Final in the Hague by defeating Germany and Latvia, respectively, in Friday’s semifinals at the North Sea coast.
The first rubber between the home team and Latvia was a one-sided affair, in which Yorick de Groot & Stefan Boermans hammered out a 2-0 (21-13, 21-6) blowout of Arturs Rinkevics & Ardis Bedritis. The second, however, was a spectacular battle for the books. Christiaan Varenhorst & Ruben Penninga lost the first set to Latvian legends Aleksandrs Samoilovs & Janis Smedins, but fought their way back to snatch the next two deep into overtime. After diving for an incredible save, Penninga hit the ball off of Smedins’s block to put away the winner and close it all off at 2-1 (18-21, 24-22, 17-15).
Ruben Penninga“I can’t believe I took this last ball! It’s amazing! I have never played a game like this! It was unbelievable!”
The Netherlands
Christiaan Varenhorst“I love playing such games! And with this guy, next to me, we completely hit it today! Ruben is only 22 years old, but his style of play is of a more mature player. As for tomorrow’s match, the winner takes all. I would really like to go to Tokyo, so our team will, for sure, give everything!”
The Netherlands
In the first semifinal, Switzerland showed no mercy for Germany and won both rubbers in straight sets. It all started with Marco Krattiger & Florian Breer’s 2-0 (21-18, 21-19) victory over Alexander Walkenhorst & Sven Winter and finished with Adrian Heidrich & Mirco Gerson’s emphatic 2-0 (21-13, 21-17) shutout of third-seeded Nils Ehlers & Lars Fluggen.
Marco Krattiger“We know the opponents and we weren’t expecting an easy game. They were able to put a lot of pressure on us with their serves, and we are happy to have emerged victorious.”
Switzerland
Adrian Heidrich“We are lucky to be one of the few nations to have two strong teams at such an important competition. It is a big plus for us. Qualifying for the Olympics would mean everything! It is my biggest dream! We are so close, let’s see…”
Switzerland